1. When in doubt go long.
If ever confused about holding on or selling a share after its run up substantially, tell yourself this and hold on to it. Just make sure to drop it in case there is a big fraud or obvious bad news against the company.
2. I buy some shares every time the market falls 2 % in a single session – this happens 10 times in a year. Try it; you will make a lot of money.
A friend of mine once told me this. I neither vouch for the 2% nor ever intend to make investments on this basis.
3. The markets will never reach back the old levels, what happened with Indian stocks between 2004-07 was a ‘one off’ event.
This was about 3 years or so back. Someone at my work place told me this. He is now subscribed to my newsletter and is fast turning very bullish on India.
4. FMCG stocks are always Blue Chip and Blue Chip stocks are a good buy at any price.
I have no words to describe how I felt. Anyways, FMCG or not, there is nothing like a Perpetual Blue Chip Company, period. Remember stocks like MTNL? At one time they were considered as the bluest of blue chips. Largest customer base, government backed with massive economic moats, etc. How much has it returned in the last 5 years – Negative 90%.
5. Gold prices will always keep rising.
I am sure that my father is not the only one who believes this. The reason behind gold’s dream run may require one to study a history of the world and understand the legacy of the gold standard. And then, it may not be hard to predict the future of gold. Something I wrote on this is available here.
6. Colgate is fine, the dark cloud was formed over your head.
the guy who said that obviously had little faith in technical trading and charting systems. This was his reply to an office colleague who is a big fan of both, after he said something like – “…… (Colgate)…… share price will correct over the next few weeks. I see a big dark cloud formation over yesterday’s closing for Colgate”. To be fair, nothing happened in the next few weeks but the event did create a lot of office interest in Colgate, and at least 2 guys followed it all the way.
7. We have no positions in any of these stocks, but have recommended them to our clients.
As an Attorney, I understand the importance of honest disclosures but this one beats me – either you are lying; if you are not lying then why aren’t you buying yourself? Easier to earn money recommending, than following your own recommendations? Huhh?
The ideas/ views expressed below are my own:
8. “I am an optimist. I only focus on the good. If I did it any other, way my portfolio would look much healthier”.
ALWAYS LOOK FOR TROUBLES – things that are not going well for the company, problems being faced etc. It is incredibly easy to get carried away by everything that is going well. Once you are in love with the reason(s) for investing in a stock, it is hard to look beyond the obvious (referred to as anchoring bias).
9. “People often confuse confidence with a display of magnificence. I speak with some years of observation on people who became inspiration to many; confidence mostly comes from being habitually consistent”.
I wrote this in trying to highlight the importance of self discipline in personal finance. Click here to read the full post on how you could start your own systematic investment plan.
10. And finally, my view on the current market environment – “…… The turbulence has been replaced with an almost deafening silence. What will follow next is a calm escalation leading into a euphoria which will eventually die down like it always does”. As always, “in the long term it is extremely difficult to lose money in stocks”.
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I heard these views/ quotes being expressed for the first time from someone in person and so I believe them to be original investing quotes. The initial thought may well be traced to someone I do not know. Please do notify below if that is the case. They sure deserve full credit for this.
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